What an exciting and fun event this past weekend was! This year’s Great Wisconsin Quilt Show (Sept 8 – 10, 2022) in Madison, Wisconsin, was filled with all kinds of great quilt exhibits, vendor’s mall, classes and workshops, as well as evening events! There was so much to do and see that I could not fit everything in! On Thursday, buses and buses of very excited people arrived to see the Show. In fact, buses continued coming on Friday and Saturday also!
I hadn’t had a chance to take pics of the vendors mall DURING the Show, but while I was standing in line waiting to pick up my quilts AFTER the Show ended on Saturday, I took a few snapshots (below)!
The photo Below shows one vendor that I was able to get a photo of during the Show… Cassie Blair and Lori were busy manning the gorgeous Lucky Quilt Company booth! Cassie graciously sold my “Speedy Solutions” books at her booth so my class students could go to the vendors mall and purchase them! THANK YOU, Cassie! Everyone was absolutely in love with the beautiful pastel colors of the Lucky Quilt Company booth! It was amazing! I had so much fun shopping at Cassie’s booth!
The Quilt Exhibits were GREAT! There were so many Exhibits to see this year… Ken Burns, Diana, Botanical Challenge, Nancy Zieman 40 Years Challenge, Jennifer Chiaverini, and MORE! I can’t remember them all right now; I know I’m missing some in the list! I wish I could have spent more time in each of the wonderful exhibits … they were awe-inspiring! Here is a peek at just a few that I was able to get photos of…
Don’t you just love the “Forest Floor” quilt by Diane Tennant? This last pic is a snapshot at an angle so that you can see the 3-dimensions of this quilt! AMAZING! The Fox’s nose stuck out 3 inches from the quilt! The little animals were all needle-felted wool! I just fell in love with this quilt!! Diane, you are an inspiration to quilters!
My friend, Chris Lynn Kirsch, was interviewed by Deanna Springer (photo below) during the Show. Check out the Facebook Page for Great Wisconsin Quilt Show to find MANY wonderful interviews that Deanna conducted with talented quilters, authors, vendors, and guests of the Show! You will enjoy each and every FB interview and learn so much along the way! Chris and I had a few moments between all our classes to sit down and chat for a few minutes on Friday. It was great to catch up! Chris is a very busy and talented artist!
My schedule was filled with 9 hours of lecturing or teaching from Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon. I lectured each afternoon from 2:30 – 3:30… “Quilted Template Treasures!” Great attendance and such wonderful response by the students to those lectures! Many commented that they are now inspired to pick up their templates and use them to create beautiful quilts, now that they understand how to cut and sew the fabric templates! Plus, I have many YouTube tutorials on my Channel which will allow them to watch the techniques over and over! The link to my YouTube Channel is HERE.
The snapshot below shows what my YouTube Channel Page looks like… many tutorials are out there for you to view…keep scrolling down when you get on that page to find and view them all!
I also conducted 3-hour workshops on Friday and Saturday from 9AM to NOON; “Speedy Solutions! Scrap It Up Party!” We had a blast! The students were fun, excited, inspired and motivated to learn how to scrap up their stash! What wonderful students!
Here are a few snapshots taken by my dear friend and Classroom assistant, Janis Albeck. She so graciously helped me with lugging my cases of equipment, quilts & supplies to each of my classes and workshops each day! THANK YOU, Janis! You are the BEST!
It is nice to have those class pics, not only to remember the classes, but they also help me remember the students that that I met in each of those classes… their ideas, their questions, their laughter and encouragement! Teaching the workshops and lecturing was just an absolute delight!
When Janis and I started walking through the quilt exhibit on Thursday morning, the first exhibit we came to was “Nancy Zieman – 40 Years Challenge.” I was very surprised and thrilled to see that I had received a blue ribbon on my challenge quilt! I had named my quilt: “Nancy on the Set!” Whenever I think of Nancy and all that she taught me over the years, I think of her either seated behind her Baby Lock machine or standing next to that the slanted worktable as she demonstrated a technique! So, this is what I decided to re-create for the Challenge.
When I made my “Nancy on the Set” quilt earlier this year, I was disappointed in how it turned out… my hand-sketch of Nancy did (I think) actually look like Nancy; but she didn’t turn out quite how I wanted her to in the quilt where I used “fabric” to draw her! LOL! I did use color pencils on her face on the quilt, and I also used a lot of threadwork over fabric for her hair and eyes, etc. So, after spending as many hours as I did working on this quilt, I decided to go ahead and enter her in the Challenge anyway. I am SO glad that I did! She won the blue ribbon! (Pics of my original sketch of Nancy and my quilt below…)
Goes to show you that you just Never Know, right? Two other quilts that I entered were accepted into the quilt exhibit as well… my Lotus in Bloom quilt, and also “Zelda the Zebra” which is one of my Nana quilts. (Both quilts are pictured below…)
I really enjoy making little quilts out of drawings and paintings that I receive from my granddaughter, Dani. Doesn’t “Zelda the Zebra” just make you smile?
And, the Botanical Quilt Challenge exhibit was on display in the hallway, so I had an opportunity to see my “Bouquet of Love for Mom” quilt, which has been traveling for the last two years with that exhibit. It was so good to see that quilt once again! I miss her but she will be returned to me sometime this Fall.
I met up with so many, many friends this year at the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show… even one who I had not seen for 15 or 20 years! It was great to see Kathy Trebac in one of my workshops and lectures, as well as at the Jennifer Chiaverini event on Friday night! (That event was wonderful and quite memorable! I was able to get an autograph on the last “Harriet’s Journey” book that was on Jennifer’s table! Yeah!) Kathy, it was great seeing you again and so much fun to “catch up!”
Hopefully, many of you were able to attend the Show this year. I am already looking forward to next year! Pssst… did you see the GWQS Challenge Flyer for 2023? It is entitled: “Back in 1973” … quilts that represent the fashion, pop culture, music, art, decorating styles, colors, kid’s toys, and/or quilt designs from 50 years ago! Hope many of you participate!
Happy Quilting! Lori Dickman